Ethiopia leads hotel expansion in East Africa

The hotel development pipeline in Ethiopia is almost 50% up on last year’s strong figures, with Addis Ababa accounting for 86% of the total, almost 5,000 rooms in 25 hotels.

Addis Ababa, September 20, 2018 (FBC) – Ethiopia currently heads the league for hotel development in East Africa, according to a regional focus from the influential annual hotel pipeline survey by Lagos-based W Hospitality Group.

Details of the survey, which covers the whole of the African continent, will be one of the key discussions at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which will return to Nairobi in October this year.

The hotel development pipeline in Ethiopia is almost 50% up on last year’s strong figures, with Addis Ababa accounting for 86% of the total, almost 5,000 rooms in 25 hotels.

There is also planned expansion in Awassa, Bahir Dar, Bishoftu, Gondar, Hawassa and Langano, according to Africa Business Communities.

In addition to the upcoming branded supply in Addis, there is a large stock of unbranded rooms under construction – but many are stalled, looking for investors to help finish them.

Government incentives, alongside international conferences and global bases for NGOs, embassies and aid agencies have all fuelled hotel growth in Addis.

W Hospitality Group’s Managing Director, Trevor Ward said: “Ethiopia’s hotel expansion is truly impressive. The activity there has been huge, and it is very pleasing to see that investors and operators are now looking to exploit the opportunities outside of Addis Ababa, in the secondary cities and tourism centres.”

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